Active userbase in India doubles in one year: Instagram

NEW DELHI: Instagram today said its userbase in India has doubled over the last year as an increasing number of youngsters turn to Facebook's mobile photo-sharing service to express themselves.

Instagram, which has over 400 million users globally with 75 per cent of its userbase outside the US, does not give country-specific user details.

"Instagram has gained immense popularity and people are using it to express themselves. Our monthly actives in India have more than doubled over the past year (as of September 2015) and the momentum continues to build," Facebook India MD Kirthiga Reddy told reporters here.

In India, 18-24 age group is the most active on Instagram, she added.

Instagram has grown to more than 400 million users this year and among the last 100 million to join Instagram, more than half live in Asia and Europe, Reddy said.

In 2012, Facebook had acquired Instagram for USD 1 billion.

Instagram commissioned a study to understand the usage pattern in India and found over 90 per cent of its users in the country to be under 30 years of age.

"Indians on Instagram are mostly young, mobile-first users with high spending power. They follow brands to keep in touch with the latest products, learn about deals and shop for products online and over 50 per cent of Indian Instagrammers have frequently purchased products and services from the brands they follow," the study conducted by Nielsen said.

Also, Indians use Instagram to express themselves artistically among like-minded people, follow celebrity trends as well as to discover and share food and travel options, it said.

"These insights are useful as we get a better understanding of our audience. In September, we opened our platform to businesses of all sizes in India and helping advertisers drive results," she said.

Separately, RCom initiated contempt proceedings in the apex court against the Department of Telecommunications, blaming it for delaying a spectrum sale that would have enabled dues to be paid to Ericsson and lenders.